Audrey Hepburn became a star overnight with her first leading role in William Wyler’s masterfully crafted romcom classic Roman Holiday. Her iconic performance as Princess Ann earned her an Academy Award. She shined so brightly in the role that she overshadowed her co-star Gregory Peck, who was an established A-lister at the time.
While the success of the finished movie speaks for itself, it had a tough road getting to the screen. With a different director buying the initial rights to the story and several blacklisted communists working on the crew, Roman Holiday had a long and fascinating production process.
10 Cary Grant And Elizabeth Taylor Were Considered For The Lead Roles
The role of Princess Ann in Roman Holiday made Audrey Hepburn a movie star. She’d previously only played bit parts and done theater work. William Wyler’s top choice for the role was actually Jean Simmons, while Elizabeth Taylor was also considered.
Cary Grant was the initial choice to play Joe, but he turned it down because he thought he was too old to play Hepburn’s love interest – although they did eventually play a couple in Charade a decade later.
9 Frank Capra Was The First Choice To Direct
The story for Roman Holiday was originally optioned in 1949 with the intention that Frank Capra would direct it as a play on his previous work, It Happened One Night. It was under Capra that the producers planned to cast Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor in the lead roles.
However, when Capra’s production company ran into financial trouble, he had to sell the rights to the story to Paramount, after which he had a few creative differences with the studio and dropped out, allowing William Wyler to step in.
8 Gregory Peck Was Dying To Do A Comedy
Cary Grant turning down the role of Joe lined up nicely with Gregory Peck wanting to take a break from his usual dramatic work to star in a comedy.
Peck was initially lined up for top billing, but during filming, it became apparent to the actor that Audrey Hepburn was the film’s true star. He thought she was destined for an Oscar and encouraged the producers to give her top billing instead. Of course, she did end up winning the Oscar.
7 Blacklisted Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo Couldn’t Receive A Credit
The writer of Roman Holiday, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted as a member of the Hollywood Ten for his communist sympathies, so he couldn’t receive a credit for the film – even when his work won an Oscar for Best Motion Picture Story.
Instead, his friend Ian McLellan Hunter, who worked on the final draft, took credit and accepted the Oscar. Hunter gave his $50,000 fee to Trumbo.
6 William Wyler Shot On Black-And-White So He Could Shoot In Rome
Paramount originally wanted to shoot Roman Holiday on soundstages in Hollywood. William Wyler was so desperate to shoot it on location in Rome that he agreed to let the studio slash the budget to accommodate the trip. This made it the first American movie to be shot in its entirety in Italy.
The movie was originally planned to be shot in Technicolor, but Wyler had to shoot it on black-and-white film in order to keep costs down. This is also why Audrey Hepburn, then an unknown actor, landed the lead role. Still, the movie ended up going around $700,000 over budget.
5 The Movie’s Royal Heroine Necessitated A Deal Between The Studio And The British Government
Since Roman Holiday revolves around a princess, Paramount had to make a deal with the British government that there would be no indication in the film that Audrey Hepburn’s character was any relation to the British royal family – particularly Princess Margaret.
William Wyler had to shoot an entire scene for the film just to make it clear that Hepburn’s character is not a British princess.
4 Gregory Peck Improvised The Scene At The Mouth Of Truth
The iconic scene that takes place at the Mouth of Truth, where Joe pretends his hand has been bitten off, was improvised by Gregory Peck. Audrey Hepburn wasn’t expecting it, so her reaction is genuine. This kind of spontaneity is exactly what director William Wyler wanted to capture with the film.
This scene was later recreated by Robert Downey, Jr. and Marisa Tomei for the movie Only You, as well as countless other parodies.
3 Audrey Hepburn Couldn’t Cry On Cue
For the scene in which Ann bids farewell to Joe, the princess was supposed to cry, but a then-inexperienced Audrey Hepburn was unable to cry on cue.
After a few takes where Hepburn failed to cry, director William Wyler became furious that they were wasting film, which prompted Hepburn to burst into tears, allowing Wyler to get the footage he needed.
2 There Were Seven Japanese Dubs Of Roman Holiday
While Roman Holiday was generally popular all over the world, it was particularly popular in Japan. A grand total of seven Japanese dubs of the movie were made.
Audrey Hepburn’s distinctive hairstyle from the movie was emulated by people from a lot of countries, but it especially became a fad in Japan.
1 A Sequel Was Considered, But Never Materialized
In the 1970s, two decades after Roman Holiday hit theaters and was lauded as a masterpiece, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck were both approached about starring in a possible sequel.
For whatever reason, the sequel never materialized. This was probably for the best, as belated sequels to classics rarely work out.
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